1787 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

No idea of ID of that Pheidole species

[Rstheant]

I think Atta species also has 3 castes. Maybe more. They are highly polymorphic.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 22nd February 2019

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm (2+cm bloated) queen 1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
7 workers, 6 cocoons, 1 medium, 4 eggs/small larvae

Woah, I see 3 extra cocoons today!
So 3-5 weeks from now they will be over 12 workers


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17mm (2cm bloated) queen 2
20mm Test tube - heat cable
14 workers - 8 cocoons, 3 large, 10+ medium/small larvae/eggs

Another cocoon spun, and probably 3 more in a few days time
but all that is moot as I have sold em



Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 6
All setups 20mm test tube and a styro foam double chamber entrance

in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
4) Queen with red dirt
10+ nanitics, small clump of 15+ eggs, 5+ donated brood from queen 5

Heat cable
1) Dual queen - red dirt - cleared all the red dirt and heaped up at the middle of the test tube
20 nanitics - huge stack of brood
2) Dual queen
6 nanitics - medium stack of eggs, some donated brood from queen 5 and setup 1
5) Queen - bare test tube
40 workers - big stack of brood
7) Queen - bare test tube, former partner of setup 2
8 nanitics - medium clump of brood

Queen 7 has 4 extra nanitics eclose.
And her brood is developing nicely.
And I have sold her

Queen 5 going strong, largest colony here. Probably around 40 workers now.
Mini majors stripped that small wood roach I gave them yesterday that was still twitching, after covering it with chewed styrofoam...
Also feeding on half a roach egg packet
They have begun placing some brood on the ceiling... unlike other smaller Pheidole species I have had, they do not like to put their brood on the cotton.

[Rstheant]

Oh my god, you broke your streak of updates. You updated everyday. NOOOOOOO

[CoolColJ]

Oh my god, you broke your streak of updates. You updated everyday. NOOOOOOO

Was too busy sorting out my feeder roaches and crickets

Anyway more to update in my weekly colony update post

[CoolColJ]

Colony update - Summer 24th February 2019

Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant) 10mm queen
Atom C nest inside circular outworld - tip of heat cable pressed against side of nest
60+ workers, 20+ cocoons, tons of brood


Melophorus sp.- black orange 7-8mm queen
Acrylic founding nest - heat cable
6 workers - brood?

coocon has eclose to 6th worker, but I can't see any more brood


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 worker - 7 small larvae

medium larvae disappeared

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
7 nanitics, 6 cocoons, 3 large, 4 small larvae/eggs

1 coocon looks ready to eclose soon.


Camponotus aeneopilosus aka golden tail sugar ant - 12mm queen
16mm test tube - styrofoam double chamber setup - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
1 drone - 15 larvae

still no cocoons yet, but I feel this week is when a few should spin

Camponotus cf nigriceps 19mm queen
20mm test tube, in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
1 nanitic - 6 small larvae, 2 eggs

Gave them honey. Decided to wait till next week to feed them some insects

Myrmecia fulvipes, bull ant, 17-18mm queen
20mm test tube - in small outworld
1 worker

Still no eggs. Some springtail looking things inside their setup...


Colobopsis macrocephala 9mm queen
16mm test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
2 nanitics and 1 large larvae, 4 eggs

Second nanitic is up and the first is a bit darker.

Did notice the queen trying to use her rear legs to pull off her wings today, but she can't quite reach them

click to enlarge



Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 6
All setups 20mm test tube and a styro foam double chamber entrance

in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
4) Queen with red dirt
10+ nanitics, small clump of 15+ eggs, 5+ donated brood from queen 5

Heat cable
1) Dual queen - red dirt - cleared all the red dirt and heaped up at the middle of the test tube
15+ nanitics - huge stack of brood
2) Dual queen
6 nanitics - medium stack of eggs, some donated brood from queen 5 and setup 1
5) Queen - bare test tube
30+ nanitics - big stack of brood

Queen 4's eggs still do not look to have hatched after all this time

Queen 5 has the most workers, 30-40, and second most brood
Starting to stack some brood on the ceiling of the test tube.

Edited by CoolColJ, February 24 2019 - 1:36 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Managed to capture a strobe ant worker spraying formic acid on a baby roach - something I did not expect or know of for quite some time!

https://www.instagra.../p/BuQtAIrFoBk/

Edited by CoolColJ, February 24 2019 - 2:27 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 26th February 2019

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
7 nanitics, 6 cocoons, 1 large, 1 medium, 4 small larvae, 4 eggs

Sweet, queen laid 4 new eggs
8th worker should eclose within 2 days

[Rstheant]

Um, I don’t know about this, so why is there a suffusus and bendigensis in the species. Usually it like Mrymecia fulvipes, or Melophorus bagoti, etc.

Edited by Rstheant, February 26 2019 - 2:24 PM.

[sirjordanncurtis]

Um, I don’t know about this, so why is there a suffusus and bendigensis in the species. Usually it like Mrymecia fulvipes, or Melophorus bagoti, etc.

Subspecies or variants. They might have different colors or specific parts of them that look different but are still essentially part of the species. Either that or they're different species but taxonomist haven't gotten around to giving them a new name yet.

[Rstheant]

Ok, name the species Camponotus formiculturis.

Edited by Rstheant, February 26 2019 - 6:47 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis is just a Camponotus suffusus with black head and red legs, whereas a normal suffusus has a red tinged head and black legs.
Plus some difference in the workers heads.
Mostly with the workers/majors, but the queens do show the differences in the legs as well

Regular suffusus vs bendigensis sub-species

Edited by CoolColJ, February 26 2019 - 10:31 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Summer 27th February 2019

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
7 nanitics, 5 cocoons, 1 large, 1 medium, 4 small larvae, 4 eggs

A cocoon has eclosed, but the worker must have been deformed or something as they killed her
I see a mangled body in the test tube
Possibly damaged by my featherweight forceps when I grabbed it from the other colony I sold last week...

[CoolColJ]

Pheidole antipodum 14-15mm queens x 6
All setups 20mm test tube and a styro foam double chamber entrance

in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
4) Queen with red dirt
10+ nanitics, small clump of 15+ eggs, 5+ donated brood from queen 5

Heat cable
1) Dual queen - red dirt - cleared all the red dirt and heaped up at the middle of the test tube
15+ nanitics - huge stack of brood
2) Dual queen
7 nanitics - medium stack of eggs, some donated brood from queen 5 and setup 1
5) Queen - bare test tube
40+ nanitics - big stack of brood

Not much has happened since last update, just a few more workers eclosing etc

One thing I have noticed, these ants like to cover up the food, and then a few days later dig back into and start eating it, despite it being dried out etc.
Since they are desert/arid area species, it kinda make sense

On that note, they do like to use substrate, more so than other ants I have in test tubes
None of my setups have access to an outworld yet, but according to a friend, that I sold my largest colony to, they seem to forage in pairs as well, they run out together then one follows the other around.
And according to some text they forage in a similar style to hypogacic foraging Dorylus laevigatus ants where they lay down more long term trails and forage in an area for a long period of time

Setup 1 and queen 5 going well, just huge piles of brood.
Takes a long time for the mini major's heads to darken fully, like over a month

Setup 1 - has 35 workers, with a few mini majors. They also have a tunnel at the bottom of the water cotton.... please don't leak!
They have a mini tower of brood
Both queens still on good terms with each other and the workers.

Setup 2 - has another worker, 7 total with 2 mini majors from donated brood, but their own eggs look to have hatched and developing, finally!

Queen 5 - over 40 workers now. There are some 4-5mm mini majors, but these are the smallest of the possibly major castes.
I do see one larger larvae in their big pile of brood.
Only setup to stick some of their brood on the ceiling.

Queen 4 - has the smallest amount of brood. All her donated brood have eclosed, but her own pile of eggs still haven't hatched yet
Just with the 11 or so donated workers and mini majors.
She's a pretty queen so hopefully she does turn out ok.

Edited by CoolColJ, February 26 2019 - 11:33 PM.

[CoolColJ]

28th February 2019

Today marks the last official day of summer...still warm, and some heatwave days coming up...

The queenless Melophorus colony I have not been updating is still around.
They have 2 medial sized workers to join the other 2 minors and a major
Not much brood left for them. I guess I'll keep them around for a bit until I need the nest and outworld.


Polyrhachis rufifemur 9mm queen
16mm test tube - heat cable
1 worker - 7 small larvae, 1 egg

Queen laid a new egg.
Looks like she can count and likes to keep her brood count around 8 for now...
I cna't believe how slow the brood times are!
3-4 months with the small larvae barely growing

[CoolColJ]

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
7 nanitics, 3 cocoons, 1 large, 1 medium, 4 small larvae, 4 eggs

Dammit they murdered another 2 cocoons. So I guess that's all 3 of the donated cocoons accounted for
There is another cocoon looking dark and ready to eclose in 2 days time.
Please eclose properly!

[Rstheant]

Any pictures on Melophorus. Maybe try introduce the other workers to the colony with a queen. Chill both colonies before though.

[CoolColJ]

Any pictures on Melophorus. Maybe try introduce the other workers to the colony with a queen. Chill both colonies before though.

Only older pics.
They have one cocoon left, not sure on eggs.

This is a different species from my other colony so no chance they will combine.

back in happier times when the queen was around. I wonder if her bum front leg caused her eventual death.. fron not being able to clean her antenna.

[CoolColJ]

Autumn 1st March 2018


Camponotus suffusus bendigensis 17-18mm queen 1
20mm Test tube - in styrofoam and heat cable incubator
7 nanitics, 3 cocoons, 1 large, 1 medium, 4 small larvae, 4 eggs

Just noticed that one of the 3 cocoons is quite a bit bigger than the other two, 30% longer

I don't think it's a major just yet, so could be a medial

[CoolColJ]

These Pheidole antipodum colonies sure like to build mini brood towers

 

Queen 5 with Setup 2 behind.

Her brood pile rivals dual queen Setup 1!

A few second gen 4-5mm mini majors have also arrived

 

click to enlarge

 

 

Dual queen Setup 1 has a nice brood tower going up